For many years, industry has been concerned with designing improved ventilation and temperature control systems for articles of manufacture such as seats for automotive vehicles or other transportation vehicles. Temperature control within a vehicle is an important feature for a user, with users being able to control the direction and temperature of air conditioning and heat through a vehicle. Many seat assemblies also provide a user with the ability to control temperature of the seats. For example, in colder external temperatures, a user may desire to have the seat warmed. During warmer external temperatures, the user may desire a cooled seat, especially to cool the user's back and/or legs.
Air routing systems can provide ventilation and temperature control for vehicle seats. These systems may include one or more channels for directing air through a seat. Examples of such ventilation or air routing systems include U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,924,766; 7,322,643; 7,607,739; and U.S. Publication No. 2007/0262621, all of which are expressly incorporated by reference.
A challenge faced with air routing systems is that air channels may not have the ability to withstand the continued weight of a user over the lifetime of the seat assembly while maintaining some flexibility. Therefore, there is a need for greater flexibility of the channels while still supporting a user, resisting channel collapse, and providing temperature control over a large area of a seat. Some air routing systems also require many discrete parts, which may make manufacturing and installation more difficult. Therefore, there also is a need to ease the assembly and installation processes within a seat.